Fantastic news!!!

It's been a while in coming. There have been rumors flying around for months, but the day is finally here. The corporation of Wild Oats was purchased by the far-superior Whole Foods back at the end of the summer, and the takeover makeover is finally happening. I realized this morning that the Rookwood Commons location (or Hyde Park, if that means anything to any non-Cincy folks) is finally making the transition to becoming a Whole Foods Store, and that means that my life can become several degrees happier. That's right, friends.

Skyr is here.

The folks here at Playhouse have mocked me on a couple of different occasions for making the pilgrimage out to Louisville's Whole Foods (a 180 minute round trip) for an item that has become a necessity in my life. They just don't understand. Shane, Jason, and Erica do. Every time I go to DC (my favorite city in the US, in case you didn't know), they make sure that I am properly directed--or driven, thanks, Shane (see right)-- to at least one of several Whole Foods locations so that I can stock up on what I believe is one of the world's most perfect foods.

Now, the biggest misconception about the stuff is that it is yogurt. According to the "skyr.is" website-- which I notice has been updated for American audiences, as it must be finally gaining the popularity it deserves as its ministry spreads--skyr is "a remarkable dairy product unique to Iceland. " It is not yogurt, but a cultured cheese product, like yogurt, but thicker, creamier, and smoother, with more of a tangyness to it (no matter the flavor, though the plain version is practically like sour cream). It is currently available in strawberry (my favorite), blueberry (my least favorite, though the Jonathan Groff lookalike pictured here makes it far more enticing now, even with the ridiculous little spoon in his mouth), vanilla (great on waffles, I believe that my performance in our workshop of Jimmy in New York City last year was markedly enhanced by the Vanilla Skyr/Van's Chocolate Chip Waffles combo that Tara and I had for breakfast each day during our visit), and plain (like I said, it's like sour cream; I don't recommend it eaten straight with a spoon. Erica finds it truly abhorrent).

In addition to its unique deliciousness, skyr is amazingly good for you. A 6-oz. container is about 150 calories, 16 incredible grams of protein, completely void of fat, and only 20 g of carbs, which is far lower than most yogurts. I have only ever seen it in Whole Foods (and not even in the NC and FL Whole Foods, last time I checked....LAME! Step UP, Raleigh and Orlando! Geez!), except for the one random Scandinavian bakery in Clermont Florida to which Melissa Nay and Chris McCollum kindly accompanied me this summer. They have skyr smoothies there, and believe me, I tried to buy some skyr from them, but they said that demand was too high to sell the stuff on its own, they had it shipped there directly from Iceland, so they had to save it for the smoothies. With the buyout, though, the sky's the limit for skyr exposure. I've extolled its virtues to many, and I am glad to know that as Whole Foods gets rid of all those worthless Wild Oats across the country, this wonderfood will now be available to the American population at large.

Skyr and Whole Foods have heard the word of my wanting, and I thank them.